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What Makes Us Human Wiki
Big Idea The purpose of this page is to define what makes humans different than other primates. To help define the difference, behavioral and physical characteristics will be compared and contrasted. *Physical Characteristics *#Bipedal *#*Spine shape *#*Skull shape *#*Leg and feet shape *#Hands and Thumbs *#*Purpose of the thumb *#*Hand structure *#Brain *#*Size to body ratio *#*Brain activity *#Limbs *#*Bone structure *#Chest Cavity *#*Size *#*Shape *Behavioral Characteristics *#Feeding *#*Proccess *#Communications *#*Proccess *#*Style *#Childhood *#*Growth *#*Learning style and techniques Physical Characteristics of Humans # Humans walk in a bipedal manner because it is the easiest form of transportation for the shape of the human skeleton. *Humans have an S shaped spine that helps to absorb the shock of walking and running while moving in a bipedal manner. This S shaped spine acts as a spring and absorbs the force of the body collapsing on itself everytime a human takes a step or runs. *Humans flat facial shape makes it very easy to see the ground while walking in a bipedal manner. The ability to see the ground is important to walk in a bipedal manner because it gives humans a sense of security to know that they are not going to trip, fall, or be attacked by anything they can not see. *The legs of humans are parallel to each other making bipedal walking easy for humans. The femur bone in the thigh of the human legs tilts inward to the knees which helps to give humans balance while standing, walking, or running. Having bow legs such as other primates makes walking in a bipedal manner awkward and have to waddle to walk in a staight line. *Humans also have the perfect foot shape for bipedal transportation. The arch in the human foot helps to hold up the weight of the body because the shape of the arch helps to disperse the weight into the ground. The big toe also is vital in walking in a bipedal manner. The big toe helps to balance the body and take on a significant portion of the bodies weight. #The hand and thumb shape of humans help to serve the neccessary functions in day to day actions. *The length and position of all the fingers on the human hand make it easy to scoop, claw, pinch, cup, and hook objects that need to be moved or controlled. *If humans had no thumb at all the amount of time to do daily proccesses would roughly be doubled. The thumb has a major factor in helping to secure items in the hand in multiple gripping formations. # The human brain is the most complex organ inside of the human body. *The brain of human beings has one of the largest brain to body size on the planet. This large size gives humans the ability to develope a large collection of memories, every emotion a human can experience, never ending learning, and the the ability to create relationships with other humans that can help us to know a person so well we can predict our peers thoughts and emotions. *Humans have an extremely large cerebrum compared to other primates. The benefits of a large cerebrum are a heightened and a more developed learning, judgement, and movement for the body. #The limbs of humans are different than other primates for multiple reasons. *The legs of humans are straight and long giving humans the ability to easily walk run or stand in a bipedal manner. The gluteus muscles, which connect to the hip bones, are a very important muscle to the body. The gluteus muscle helps to hold the entire back upright and give it support. *The arms of humans are shorted compared to other primates because of the needed functions of our arms. We do not need to walk on all fours or climb trees all day. Long arms would just be a hindrance to humans because they are not needed. #The chest cavity of humans also has a unique shape for humans. *The flat shape of the human chest cavity is very beneficial for bipedal walking. The flatness give humans the abiltiy to see the ground when walking and also gives than a center of balance. Behavioral Characteristics fo Humans #Humans feeding is similar and different compared to other primates feeding. *Humans prefer to eat in groups. These groups range from sizes of pairs to hundreds. *Eating for humans is prefered to be done with utensils. Very few foods are eaten without utensils. *Humans also almost always eat while sitting. # Communication is probably the most unique behavioral aspect to everyday humans living. *Humans communicate in many forms, some of these are: talking, writing, pointing, and body language. *Humans communication is extremely complicated compared to other primates. Talking and language are solely a human form a communication for primates. Other primates communicate with grunts, squeaks, or screams but have no formal language. Writing is the most complicated form of human communication and is the form most unique to humans. Pointing is done in a lot of primate species but not to anly degree close to human pointing. Body language is the most common primate communication. Every primate understands intimidation, fear, anger, or happiness in body language. #The techniques of human childhood learning and growing are very different than other primates. *The physical birth and growth of humans is a very long proccess. It takes humans nine months to mature inside the womb and then fifteen to twenty years until most humans can live independently from their parents. *The mental growth period for humans stetches throughout their entire life. Humans learn the best by being taught directly from a parent or another peer. Physical Characteristics of Other Primates #Primates other than humans prefer to walk in a quadrupedal manner using their legs and the knuckles of their hands. *The long face, C shaped spine, and large chest cavity make bipedal walking extremely awkward for other primates. When other primates decide to walk in a bipedal manner the only do so for a matter of seconds or minutes. *The curve in other primates legs and the long length of their arms also makes it a lot easier to walk in a quadrupedal manner rather than a bipedal. #The hand and thumb stucture of other primates is very similar to humans. *The major difference of human hands compared to other primates are the length of finges. Humans have relatively short fingers compared to other primates. *The long fingers of chimps and other primates makes it very easy to form a hook hand fromation that is eay to climb with. #The brain of other primates is not small, just smaller than humans compared to body size. *Other primates have the brain stem coming out of the back of the brain which makes it easy to walk on all fours. *The cerebellum of other primates is large by percentage than humans which is why other primates have such an easy time controlling every muscle and joint to swing from branch to branch. # The limbs of other primates have a unique proportion. *The arms of other primates are very long giving them the ability to walk in a quadrupedal manner, swing in trees, and climb easily. *The gluteus muslce of other primates is very small and gives no support for upright walking. *Other primates legs are wide apart and straight giving them no center of balance for bipedal walking. #The chest cavity of other primates is large and bulging compared to the flat human chest cavity. *Other primates have large chest cavities that hang down from their quadrupedal stature. *This chest cavity helps to create a less tight enviorment for sensitive organs when slouched over. Behavioral Characteristics of Other Primates #Primates other than humans feed in a social way relatable to humans but physically eat very differently. *Other primates eat like humans in that they eat in groups ranging small to large. *Other primates also eat with utensils like humans do but they follow no "manners" while eating. Humans usually eat in certian location while other primates eat anywhere they can find food or water. #Other primates have very simple forms of communication. *Most primates other than humans communicate with noises or body language. *Other primates can also learn to point if they are repeatably taught by humans. #The childhood of other primates area are very similar to human childhoods. *The length of pregnancy for chimps is a little over seven months compared to the nine months of humans. *Other primates spend less time with their parents during their life. The amount of time humans spend with their parents they are constantly learnind new forms of communication, ways to make life easier, and common knowledge. Conclusion # My conclusion for what makes us human is very simple. *Humans prefer to stand, walk, or run in a bipedal manner compared to other primates that primarely move in a quadrupedal manner. Each of our forms of transportation are easiest for our bone structures. *Humans have shorter arms than other primates, knees that slant inward, and a flat chest cavity. *Humans also have shorter fingers than other primates. *The difference between humans and other primates for eating are very minor. Humans usually eat in the same places everyday while other primates are nomadic eaters. *The communication differences are that humans have developed a complex language and writing while other primates still communicate with vocal noises and body language. *The major differences of humans and other primates are our childhoods and learning techniques. The average length of time a humans spends in their life with their parents is much longer than that of other primates. All that time with our parents helps human to learn important aspects of life and how to communicate with other humans. Humans learn all these techiques from their parents mostly from the parents showing the children how to do something and then the children trying it themselves. Category:Browse